Hey all,

I figured since I fixed mine I should post everything I did to fix the Joystick function.

First of all, the joystick I have is a Microsoft Sidewinder USB (I think) it is very old, got it maybe two years ago maybe more.

Ah, here is the thing here (the picture matches), just so we are on the same page:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B00006BA0Q

No, I didn't pay the $64 it was more like $20 at staples that long ago.

INITIAL PROBLEMS:

1) Joystick Calibration Utility Spotty at best
2) Plane rolled left and wouldn't stop it! Made me crash all the time (not that I'm that good anyhow!)
3) Button mappings not functioning properly

SOLUTIONS:

Alright, I first patched the game from store release to v 1.01 then to v 1.02 (the update is not cumulative, so make sure to download both patches before applying, I made that mistake at first.

The patch did nothing for the most part that I can tell.

Issue 1 is unsolvable, basically, the tool is poor (not that I could program better though). I found a way around it with number 3, but most of you won't like it.

Issue 2, turns out the function Z Axis Left was mapped to (Roll Plane Left). As it turned out this so called Z-axis was actually my damn throttle control, so when full power was applied the plane would pull up and then roll left until a glorious crash resulted. I then changed roll right and left to buttons on the controller (Double click the function with Joystick 1 selected and then push a button) Doesn't matter which button, as long as you won't be needing it later. I made roll right and left buttons 7 and 6 or something.

THROTTLE: I then double clicked to change the throttle settings. Subsequently I moved the throttle control up from center (have it at center before you start) to the top. The program responded saying "button 17" was now throttle up. I clicked ok and did the same, start in middle, double click, and move down for throttle down, and now "button 18" Unfortunately, the program reads the throttle as either on or off, no in-betweens in game from what I can tell. I don't particularly care about being able to run 85% or some such junk, it's not a flight sim, it's an arcade game, so simple is good.

PITCH: Pitch was also crappy from the start. I double clicked pitch up and slowly (VERY SLOWLY, TOO FAST IT DOESN'T WORK!) pulled the stick backward. And it mapped "button 13" to pitch (once again not a strictly "fluid" motion, but it worked. I did the same for pushing forward (pitch down) and it mapped "button 14" In game, I do not notice the fluidity issue, as in dogfighting I usually have no cause to move the plane at a slow rate when turning.

ROLL: Forget this, I tried setting it to the left and right axis on the stick and had a terrible time making it work (oh, the controller worked fine, just the way the plane turned was so terrible I had to change this to buttons and just say forget it. See below for how to set this function, if you so desire.

TURN LEFT/RIGHT: For this particular game I find the turn left and right function better as it seems to combine a steady rudder and roll movement into an easy to control turn at a decent angle. I double clicked on Turn Left and slowly moved the stick from center to the left, do this slowly and it should click in and say "Z-Axis Left" or something like that. Do the same for turning right.

Good, so there is speed and turning, etc. I was able to play using those settings and experienced no problems (other than fluidity issues with throttle)

I am currently looking for a way to directly edit a file in the game directory to manually enter controls, since the tool is so awful. While I was digging in I found some graphics and files that are clearly XBox related, it seems like the game was a port or something.

If I am unclear in this at all please ask, I will lend what assistance I can.

Best of luck to all of you with this!

-John

I think this is the same "fix" most people are using. The problem is that, although it "functions" it is a very poor fix.

Having no control over how much you turn, climb, or what speed you actually fly, hinders your ability to dogfight quite a bit. Ever find yourself overturning right past another plane, or flying right past it cause you're going to fast?

UbiSoft needs to correct this problem once and for all. Otherwise this game will continue to be a dud. I'm seriously disappointed in them. Especially since they have "patched" the game twice already and still not corrected the problem.

jerreece,

Yeah, I see what you are saying. Some of the actions actually work fluidly for me though, specifically turn left and right, because somehow the axis mapped correctly for left and right, but up and down just won't do it.

Even with the right mappings though, the whole thing is shoddy like you said. The game would be perfect if the controls of MS Combat Flight Sim 3 applied, or any other fluid gameplay method.

I recently discovered that mapping the rudder controls to the stick helped me out a bit, but not enough.

I would use the keyboard controls, but they feel about as natural to me as using a gamepad for a FPS.